Five demonstrators suffered various injuries today and dozens suffered from gas asphyxiation as result of the suppression by occupation forces towards the mass demonstration. The demonstration started from outside Bakkah mosque in Hebron in Martyrs Street near the center of the old town to reject Judaizing the city, stealing land by the settlements, and to demand the opening of Martyrs Street, which has been closed since the second intifada to the Palestinians. Only settlers can use this street.
The demonstration was called by the Popular Campaign against the Apartheid Wall and the Welcome to Palestine campaign. It was attended by international solidarity activists as well as the people of Hebron and the popular committees in the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron.
Before starting the demonstration, Jabir Badran spoke on behalf of the national political parties and Mazen al-Azzah, coordinator of the Stop the Wall popular committee in Bethlehem, emphasized that the city of Hebron and its vicinity suffers the worst settlement process and looting of the ancient city. They also spoke of the rejection of the Palestinian people to have their cities and their civilization stolen.
After the speeches, demonstrators launched the march carrying Palestinian flags and slogans rejecting the stealing of Martyrs Street. There was strong suppression by the occupation of the demonstration. The launching of a barrage of tear gas led to the injury of five demonstrators. Those that were injured were treated on the ground. Additionally there were dozens of cases of severe choking from the gas.
The demonstration was one of many activities organized in the West Bank region to commemorate the anniversary of the High Court of Justice’s decision in 2003 against the Israeli occupation.